Electronic device configuration

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides for an electronic functional device such as an isolator and arranged to offer configurable functionality for alteration of the function of the device, the device including wireless reception means for receiving wireless configuration data for the selective configuration of the device, and can also include wireless transmission means for the wireless transmission of data identifying its configured state.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Stage Entry of, and claims priority to,PCT Patent Application No. PCT/GB2017/050188, filed Jan. 25, 2017, whichclaims priority to United Kingdom Patent Application No. GB1603207.0,filed Feb. 24, 2016, both of which are hereby incorporated by referencein their entirety.

The present invention relates to the configuration of a functionalelectronic device such as, for example, an electronic device offeringisolation and/or barrier functionality and can, if required, relate todevices operating in intrinsically safe environments.

Electronic devices offering characteristics such as isolation and/orbarrier, or indeed general safety, functionality, find common use inrelation to control systems in process-control environments.

A wide variety of process control systems for operating in suchenvironments are known and which require some form of device/circuitisolation.

While known devices such as isolators are generally manufactured with aparticular functional requirement in mind, such that the choice ofcomponent elements, and respective wiring elements, are generally knownand factory-set, there has been a recent emergence of increasinglysophisticated barrier/isolator devices, especially, for example, socalled universal isolators. These isolators can offer an ever increasingselection of possible functions within one device. The exactfunctionality of such devices is therefore not set, and it becomespossible to configure such universal isolators so as to meet one ofseveral possible functional requirements. Such configuration is alsoknown in relation to thermocouple and RTD isolators insofar as it isnecessary to set the type and range of sensor.

However, in order to configure such known universal isolators for therequired functionality, a configuration unit is connected to the deviceeither by way of serial lines, or by way of a plug-in device, both ofwhich requiring physical connection to the already assembled device. Itis commonly required that switches are employed for achieving theselection of the required reconfiguration.

Various disadvantages and limitations have been identified for suchknown configuration arrangements. For example, when employing the use ofserial lines, the configuration is disadvantageously specific to theparticular system requirements. Also, when employing cables associatedwith plug-in devices, such cables can generally be lost or damaged, orotherwise not available at the particular time and location ofrequirement and this can disrupt or even prevent the configurationprocess. This can then cause severe problems for the commissioning/useof the whole system in which the universal isolator is to be used. Thereis also the related disadvantage that the isolator unit may requireremoval in order to enable the required reconfiguration, and whichincreases the level of disruption encountered with known systems.

Also, such physical connections to an isolator device can presentElectromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) issues and so an operative havingresponsibility for the configuration needs to be careful to groundhim/herself before the configuration process commences. It is a furtherdisadvantage with such known configuration arrangements that theisolator may have to be in a powered state during the configurationprocess.

The present invention seeks to provide for a functional electronicdevice, having configurable functionality and offering one or moreadvantages over known such devices.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is providedan isolator device for providing circuit isolation and arranged to offerconfigurable functionality for alteration of the function of theisolator device, the isolator device including wireless reception meansfor receiving wireless configuration data for the selectiveconfiguration of the device.

Through the provision of the wireless reception means within thefunctional device arranged for receiving the wireless configurationdata, far more flexible, efficient, reliable and also potentiallycost-effective configuration of the functional device can be achieved.

In particular, the functional device of the present invention allows anoperative to configure the device remotely, and from an appropriatedistance, and in any appropriate situation such as, for example, but notlimited to, while the device is in a powered, or an unpowered, state,while the device is in assembly mode or indeed in the post-assembly testmode, while the device is either mounted within a functional system, orbeing manually handled for mounting in such a system, and also whilelocated in situ for example in the field.

Advantageously, the electronic isolator device includes means forwireless transmission of data relating to its configured state.

In such a manner, any previous configuration of the device can readilybe remotely checked, and re-checked as required, and at any appropriatetime during testing, or when mounted in the field for use.

Advantageously therefore, the wireless reception means is arranged forreceiving wireless configuration data while the device is powered.

Alternatively, the wireless reception means is arranged for receivingwireless configuration data while the device is not in a powered state.

As a further advantage, the device includes a non-volatile memoryfunctionality.

In one particularly advantageous embodiment, the wireless receptionmeans comprises a RFID device.

Also, the functional electronic device can include near fieldcommunication functionality. In particular, the wireless reception meanscan exhibit near field communication functionality.

As a further example, the electronic functional device can be arrangedto be mobile-enabled.

One particular embodiment of the electronic functional device comprisesan isolator device. In particular, the isolator device can comprise auniversal isolator.

In another example of the invention, the electronic functional devicecan comprise a barrier device.

In particular, the functional electronic device is arranged for offeringsafety functionality for devices operating within an intrinsically safeenvironment.

As will therefore be appreciated, the present invention provides forparticularly efficient, adaptable and cost-effective means forachieving, maintaining, and readily checking, in an advantageouslyremote manner, the configuration of a functional device such as auniversal isolator. The configuration can be achieved, maintained,checked and whether during assembly, post-assembly, during commissioningor later in field-test and in-situ use scenarios.

According to one example, the invention can be arranged such that dataobtained from the device can comprise device status and/or diagnosticinformation.

Any communication devices such as smartphones increasingly have thefacility of conversing with an RFID chip via an appropriate application.Accordingly, the configuration unit can then advantageously beincorporated into known and commonly available communication devicessuch as smart phone devices, laptop computers and tablet devices.

The cost and footprint of RFID devices is also advantageously less thanexternal EEPROMs such as are currently employed for universal isolatorconfiguration.

Additionally there is no need for expensive connectors and associatedcomponents.

A device can therefore advantageously, inspect, and check theconfiguration at any time when in the vicinity of the functional device.

Also, multiple devices can be readily configured/checked as and whenrequired through simultaneous receipt of a configuring/interrogatingtransmission from a configuration unit.

The invention is described further hereinafter, by way of example only,with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is a schematic block diagram of a known universal isolator andknown options for configuration connectivity;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the mounting of a plurality of suchknown universal isolator devices when system-mounted such as mountedwithin an isolator cabinet for use in relation to an intrinsically safesystem;

FIG. 2A is a schematic representation of a universal isolator accordingto an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of an array of universal isolatorsaccording to an embodiment of the present invention and forming part ofan isolator system within, for example an isolator cabinet of anintrinsically safe system.

Turing first to FIG. 1A, there is provided a schematic illustration of auniversal isolator which can be arranged, for example, to offerisolation to field devices arranged to operate within an intrinsicallysafe environment.

The isolator comprises a microprocessor based control element 111 incommunication with a non-volatile storage element 112 as indicated bythe opposing arrows. The combination of the microprocessor based controlelement 111 and the non-volatile storage 112 provides for an appropriateone of a plurality of possible configurations for the isolator device asrequired by the manner of isolation, for example whether within thedigital domain or analog domain, and the nature of the field devices, tobe isolated.

The particular configuration of the isolator 101 to be employed iscontrolled through use of a configuration unit which connects to themicroprocessor base control element by way of for example, a plug-inconnector 121, or a serial connector 122.

As indicated, the plug-in connector 121 is arranged to be received in asocket 131, whereas the connector 122 is arranged to be received in aconnector slot 132 as illustrated.

Further detail of the use of such a known configurable universalisolator 101 is illustrated with reference to FIG. 1B. Here, a pluralityof seven isolator units 101-107 are illustrated and wherein one 135 ofthe sockets is arranged to receive the plug 121 associated with aconfiguration unit for the delivery of configuration data to theconfigured isolator 105 which, through illumination of the particularLED 145 indicates the selection and/or manner of configuration.

As will therefore be appreciated for reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, theconfiguration is disadvantageously limited insofar as the use of theserial line results in a particular configuration specific to the systemrequirements only, whereas use of the plug 121 requires the readyavailability of undamaged cables and at the particular location ofrequirement.

Turning now to FIG. 2A, there is provided a schematic illustration ofone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A illustrates a configurable universal isolator 201 as an exampleof the configurable functional device of the present invention and whichemploys a micro system control element 211 for use in part of theconfiguration process.

However, rather than the serial input/sockets of the known configurableuniversal isolator devices, the example of the present invention offeredby isolator 201 employs an RFID unit having a small antenna, commonly inthe order of 10 mm, and also offering non-volatile storagefunctionality.

Thus, the communication of configurable data to, and the transmission ofconfigured data from, the universal isolator 201 can advantageously beemployed in a wireless manner and by means of particularly costeffective, and generally readily available, communication devices suchas a known smart phone 221, and laptop 222 and indeed other devices suchas communication-enabled tablet devices.

With reference to FIG. 2B, there is illustrated the employment of suchan isolator 201 of the present invention as a mounting of seven isolatordevices 201-207 in which one isolator device 205 is selected, and againas indicated by illuminated LED 245 for appropriate wireless/remoteconfiguration by way of its RFID device (not shown in FIG. 2B) and anoperative's smartphone 221.

As will therefore be appreciated, the ability to communicate to themicroprocessor control element 211 of the isolator 201 of the presentinvention allows an operator to configure the isolator 201 at adistance, in any situation, while powered or not, whether on an assemblybench, test bench, whether in an operatives hand, or generally on thefly production or when mounted in the field.

The configuration unit can therefore readily be incorporated withinwidely available communication devices such as smartphones which canreadily be arranged for communication with an RFID chip and whichprovide for particularly cost effective alternatives to the use of knownEEPROMs and connectors as found in the prior art.

In addition, an operative can readily identify, inspect and check theconfiguration at any time when in the vicinity of the isolator device201 and, if required, for example, each of the plurality of isolatordevices 201-207 as illustrated in FIG. 2B when, for example, mountedwithin an isolation cabinet, can be configured simultaneously by way ofreceipt of the configuration data from the hand held device 221.

Of course, it should be appreciated that the invention is not restrictedto the exact details of the foregoing embodiment and the remotecommunication with the configurable isolator device can be by way of anyappropriate wireless transmission/reception technology an includingthose employing Near Field Communication (NFC) communication protocolsor otherwise.

The configuration can therefore be advantageously memorised even whenthe unit is turned off. Also, no direct contact is required with theisolator device due to the use of the transmission/reception of wirelessconfiguration data and so the configuration and subsequent inspection,process can be achieved in a more reliable and efficient manner and, inparticular, in a manner not exhibiting EMC issues for the operative.

Additionally, if an isolator is an intrinsically safe device and if itis mounted in a zone of danger, for ex. Zone 2, while a connector basedconfiguration/communication would be forbidden during operation, such atype of communication as herein described would be allowed.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An electronic functional device comprising:an isolator device for providing circuit isolation according to one of aplurality of possible isolation configurations and arranged to offerconfigurable functionality for selective alteration of the isolationconfiguration of the isolator device, wherein the isolator device isuniversal, and a wireless transceiver in communication with the isolatordevice, the wireless transceiver configured for receiving wirelessconfiguration data for the selective isolation configuration of theisolator device and configured for transmitting wireless interrogationdata of the selective isolation configuration, and wherein thetransceiver is configured to transmit data related to status anddiagnostic information of the isolation device.
 2. The electronicfunctional device of claim 1, wherein the wireless transceiver isconfigured to receive wireless configuration data while the isolatordevice is not in a powered state.
 3. The electronic functional device ofclaim 1, further including a non-volatile memory.
 4. The electronicfunctional device of claim 1, wherein the wireless transceiver comprisesan RFID device.
 5. The electronic functional device of claim 1, whereinthe wireless transceiver employs near field communication functionality.6. The electronic functional device of claim 1, wherein the isolatordevice is configured to provide barrier functionality.
 7. The electronicfunctional device of claim 1 in combination with one or more devices,the electronic functional device configured to provide safetyfunctionality for the devices operating within an intrinsically safeenvironment.